Power Rankings: Leeds fall, Sheffield Wednesday and the Shaymen rise

The FA Cup brought a distraction, welcome or not, over the weekend to many of Yorkshire's sides.
Daniel Ayala.Daniel Ayala.
Daniel Ayala.

Tuesday night also saw a full raft of Championship fixtures, many of which were more important in deciding a team’s position in the rankings.

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Last week’s Yorkshire Post Power Rankings

Postponements also caused issues across the county and left some teams at the whims of sides around them in terms of deciding their new positions.

Here are this week’s Yorkshire Post Power Rankings:

1) Middlesbrough (-)

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Even though Middlesbrough lost a game since we last looked at the Power Rankings, it’s impossible to remove them from top spot.

Their defeat came against Burnley in the FA Cup, and there was almost certainly a large part of Aitor Karanka that was happy to take an elimination.

It allows Boro to concentrate on the league for the rest of the season, something they have done with aplomb so far this campaign.

A victory against Brentford on Tuesday night sent Karanka’s side six points clear of Derby County in second with a game in-hand, an impressive position to have at this point of the season.

2) FC Halifax Town (up one)

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Jim Harvey deserves an incredible amount of credit for the work he has done as manager of Halifax Town.

When he came into the club, the team were on the floor and a complete shambles on the pitch - now they are one of the National League’s form sides.

They have also climbed up to 19th in the division, an exceptional turnaround given they were the basement side only a few weeks ago.

A 1-0 win against Macclesfield on Saturday put them a point ahead of the relegation zone.

3) Huddersfield Town (up two)

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There are draws among the wins, but Huddersfield have not been beaten in their last five games.

The 2-2 against Reading in the FA Cup will have been a blow, not least because it adds to fixture congestion and the equaliser was conceded in the last minute.

However, Tuesday night’s stunning win against Charlton will have been a major boost.

A five goal victory is impressive in any circumstance, and Town were so good that Charlton captain Johnnie Jackson felt a need to offer travelling fans a refund on Twitter after the game.

4) Hull City (up four)

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Hull City progressed to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a win against Brighton on Saturday.

It will also have been a boost to see Robert Snodgrass score from the spot after such a long spell out with injury.

They now have an exceptional opportunity on their hands.

Win against Cardiff City tonight and - courtesy of Derby’s draw against Reading - they will move into second spot in the Championship.

5) Sheffield Wednesday (up five)

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A win in the FA Cup and a win in the league for Sheffield Wednesday makes this a pretty successful week.

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First they beat Fulham 2-1 and then followed it up with a 3-2 win against Bolton on Tuesday night.

Their form at Hillsborough this season has been exceptional, and they are now only two points away from Brighton in sixth.

Constantly talked about as play-off contenders, the Owls could make a position in the top six their own with a win against Leeds on Saturday.

6) Rotherham United (up six)

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It was not as fun a return to Elland Road for Neil Redfearn as his last visit on Saturday.

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This time his Rotherham side lost 2-0, knocked out of the FA Cup in the process.

However they did beat Brighton by the same scoreline last night, a team that has been in the promotion mix all season.

That result will have meant more to the Millers, and lifted them three points clear of the relegation zone. Keep it up and they will achieve their goal of Championship status for another season.

7) Doncaster Rovers (down five)

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There was to be no cup upset for Doncaster Rovers on Saturday as they lost 2-1 to Stoke City.

They have not played a game since.

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However, Rovers are continually impressive and the visit of Gillingham on Saturday gives them an opportunity to outline their promotion credentials.

The Gills are 2nd in League One, the sort of position Darren Ferguson’s side would be in without their poor start.

8) Leeds United (down four)

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Leeds progressed past Rotherham United on Saturday in the FA Cup, but ask anyone at Elland Road and they would have preferred points against Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

That was not possible for the Whites, despite Souleymane Doukara opening the scoring after only 12 seconds.

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Steve Evans’ side dropped far too deep and allowed Ipswich to play, and were in part to blame for the equaliser and late winner that sent them back up the A14 and A1 without any points.

The play-off dream now seems to be over, with the impressive Sheffield Wednesday waiting on Saturday.

9) Barnsley (down three)

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Barnsley may have only managed a draw against Fleetwood Town on Saturday, but they can still see a Wembley final in the not too distant future.

It was also another example of Lee Johnson’s cheap but young signings working out.

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Ashley Fletcher had no first team experience before coming on in the 68th minute. Only five minutes later he had a goal to his name.

The Oakwell side have also been better on the road than at home recently, suggesting it might not be a simple job for Fleetwood when Barnsley visit Highbury.

10) Sheffield United (down three)

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Sheffield United can consider themselves unfortunate not to have a visit from Manchester United on their fixture list.

After all, it took a last minute penalty for Louis van Gaal’s side to avoid a replay.

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The Blades also showed tremendous spirit to fight back from 3-0 down against Wigan Athletic on Tuesday night and earn a 3-3 draw.

They could also have won the game in the dying moments, although manager Nigel Adkins would surely be questioning how his team went three behind in the first place.

11) Bradford City (-)

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A draw against Bury in the FA Cup and no game until this coming Saturday means Bradford City are still waiting to truly bounce back from two losses on the spin.

Oldham, who dispensed with manager David Dunn, are the visitors on Saturday.

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Phil Parkinson will be hoping that if the Latics manage to appoint John Sheridan before the weekend, the visitors will not experience a new manager bounce.

Wins are needed at Valley Parade, with the Bantams aiming to push on and move closer to the top six.

12) Guiseley (down three)

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Guiseley’s game against Forest Green Rovers on Saturday was postponed, something that gave teams around them an opportunity to climb up the Power Rankings through no fault of Guiseley’s own.

13) York City (-)

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The terrible weather in York recently meant their game against Exeter City on Saturday was postponed.

It could not have come at a much worse time for York, as they need results on the board to try and climb out of the relegation zone again.